Philadelphia mayor to seek property tax hike to help schools

March 1, 2018

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s mayor is expected to ask the city council to pass a 6 percent increase in property taxes to help erase a nearly $1 billion budget deficit plaguing the city’s public schools.

Jim Kenney will make the proposal during his annual budget address to City Council Thursday morning.

He will also propose increasing the real estate transfer tax and putting the brakes on planned cuts to the wage tax.

The city formally takes back control of the School District of Philadelphia from the state-run School Reform Commission in July. The SRC, which is dissolving, has run the district for more than 16 years.

The city has had four property tax increases in the last decade alone, which could lead to blowback on Kenney’s plan.